PATNA: You must have seen tall, fair, different-looking men appearing in the city every winter and selling woollens in rickshaws. They come from far-off Kashmir, and the shawls and suits they sell have Kashmir's indigenous embroidery designs on them.
Abdul Rashid Bhut from Pahalgam in Kashmir sells woollens worth Rs 3 lakh to Rs 4 lakh in Patna every year. "My wife and I work on these shawls and suits back home in Kashmir for eight months, and I spend the four winter months selling them in Patna," said the 46-year-old who, when he is home, also looks after his orchard of apple and walnut.
Ghulam Hassan Dar of Pahalgam too has an orchard each of apple and walnut back home. "I sell woollens worth Rs 2 lakh to Rs 2.5 lakh during the three to four months I spend in winter in Patna," the 39-year-old said.
Abdul Majeed Itto runs a grocery store in Anatnag in Kashmir. "My wife works on these shawls... We earn a profit of Rs 50,000 to 60,000 from the woollen sales every year," said the quadragenarian.
According to Bhut, 400-odd traders from the valley come to Bihar every year. Of them, 100-150 move around in Patna.
"Everyone of us brings enough to sell for one season... If the demand is high and we end up exhausting our stocks midway, we get a fresh consignment from home delivered through a transport agency," he said.
Such Kashmiri traders also go to Punjab, Haryana, UP, Jharkhand and West Bengal. "We Kashmiris in fact go to all the places where people need to wear shawls and sweaters," Bhut said.
Abdul Rashid Bhut from Pahalgam in Kashmir sells woollens worth Rs 3 lakh to Rs 4 lakh in Patna every year. "My wife and I work on these shawls and suits back home in Kashmir for eight months, and I spend the four winter months selling them in Patna," said the 46-year-old who, when he is home, also looks after his orchard of apple and walnut.
Ghulam Hassan Dar of Pahalgam too has an orchard each of apple and walnut back home. "I sell woollens worth Rs 2 lakh to Rs 2.5 lakh during the three to four months I spend in winter in Patna," the 39-year-old said.
Abdul Majeed Itto runs a grocery store in Anatnag in Kashmir. "My wife works on these shawls... We earn a profit of Rs 50,000 to 60,000 from the woollen sales every year," said the quadragenarian.
According to Bhut, 400-odd traders from the valley come to Bihar every year. Of them, 100-150 move around in Patna.
"Everyone of us brings enough to sell for one season... If the demand is high and we end up exhausting our stocks midway, we get a fresh consignment from home delivered through a transport agency," he said.
Such Kashmiri traders also go to Punjab, Haryana, UP, Jharkhand and West Bengal. "We Kashmiris in fact go to all the places where people need to wear shawls and sweaters," Bhut said.
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